(This has been a rare post in support of The Political Weblog Movement. Find out more here.)

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Date
20040705
A Blog is Born
Time
09:37Just for the record… I went to see a certain movie last night. Going to see it yourself? My advice would be to take a wingnut with you. If you can find one with enough guts.

UPDATE – Yep, looks like he’s going to weasel his way out again. And there’s nothing you or I can do about it…

Independent – Blair finally admits it: ‘We may never find WMD’: His move was seen at Westminster as a pre-emptive strike before the publication a week today of the Butler report into Britain’s pre-war intelligence, which is expected to criticise the security services and the use by the Government of the material they provided. Mr Blair is expected to admit that mistakes were made ­ but to defend the decision to topple Saddam.

Yes, I watched Panorama last night. Yes, I caught the ‘blink and you miss it’ reference to what Blair omitted from the September dossier – the assertion by the intelligence services that there was no clear link between Iraq and al Qaeda.

Juicy links to follow, emails and/or any ideas for futile gestures are welcome.

Andrew Rawnsley – What Tony Blair would say to God: I’m increasingly convinced that the Prime Minister essentially decided to support the removal of the Iraqi dictator first, and then thought about how to sell this to his party, the public and international opinion. On this occasion, the presentation did not drive the policy; the policy drove the presentation.

Peter Preston – Does Big Ben Chime For You?: At heart, you’re just that ordinary guy, stuck with going on and on until something – a trouncing, a visitation from Osama, a superbug the good doctor missed – says you’re not. The trouble with power, you know, is that there is no rest as the clock strikes five.

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Date
20040714
It’s War! It’s Legal! It’s Lovely!
Time
09:21From today’s issue of Murdoch’s Times newspaper: Officials said yesterday that they were confident the Government had escaped the two most ‘lethal’ verdicts, namely that Mr Blair and his aides lied about Iraqi WMD or that he went to war without legal justification. Although they accept that the report will be “tough and embarrassing,” one senior Whitehall source stated last night: “The Prime Minister will be cleared of misusing intelligence. An hour after receiving the report yesterday, Mr Blair issued a passionate defence of the war with Iraq, saying that the world was safer and more secure with Saddam out of power. He is expected to reiterate that message today in a Commons statement at 1.30pm, an hour after Lord Butler publishes his report.”

That’s it? That’s all he’s got? Saddam bad, Saddam gone, no problem…?

There have been more than a few mentions of the lack of a “silver bullet” aimed at Blair, but it’s also highly unlikely that any aspect of the report magically clears Blair.

Why do I suspect this? Because if there were such a thing, the foundations would almost certainly have been laid in this morning’s Sun, which today contains not one mention of Lord Butler and his report. Instead it’s the new plague and Britney Spears swigging scotch. (Or is that perhaps a bottle of ginseng extract? Never mind. They operated on the intelligence they had at the time and did what had to be done, and that’s what matters.)

Don’t think too hard today, boys and girls. And remember that there are bigger problems to deal with.

That way, Blair has a chance of squirming free once again, instead of being strapped to the nearest long-range missile and sent on his way.

The UK Today: Now remember, and this is the important bit, the rationale for invading Iraq was to prevent Saddam using his WMDs, weapons that would take no more than 45 minutes to deploy and could hit Cyprus. Remember that because it is important. Our Parliament voted to go to war on the issue of WMDs, not to bring about regime change, not to bring democracy to Iraq, not to free the Iraqis, but to get rid of Saddam and his WMDs.

My fave bit: On the 45 minute claim, Lord Butler said his inquiry had looked at whether the claim had been spun by the government but he decided it had not. It had been seized on by the media because it was new and striking.

Yes. Downing St had no control over how certain media outlets *cough*Murdochscum*cough* might select or treat this new and striking information. That Blair’s team chose to highlight.

Also: Lord Butler said Iraq was a very big place and there was “lots of sand” and it would be an unwise person who reached the conclusion that nothing would ever be found in Iraq.

Like, perhaps… more sand?

And: Lord Butler said there was no evidence, no reason to question to the prime minister’s good faith.

Quickly leapt upon by Blair as Vindication Lite: The prime minister said there had been two issues one being about good faith – no-one had lied, made up intelligence, everyone had tried to do their best in difficult circumstances. Questions over good faith should now be at an end.

Oh, and Saddam is a bad man, and now he’s gone. War on Terror, 911, etc. etc. etc.

Maggie Thatcher’s Underpants – Whitehall Whitewash Part Deux: The Smell of Teflon: What I am definitely certain of is that something went badly wrong in the interface between the intelligence community and government. The government wanted intelligence to make the case for a war they were already committed to – intelligence didn’t guide what they were doing. In this desperation, pressure was placed on the intelligence community to come up with the sort of language that the government wanted.

The UK Today – Lies, Damn Lies, and Dossiers on WMDs: When it comes to the 45 minute claim, Butler decided that the claim had not been spun by the government, but instead was seized upon by the media because it would make a striking headline. Which would be a valid defence were it not for the fact that Alistair Campbell was in the loop and would have know exactly the effect the 45 minute claim would have on the press.

To close, I offer you a rarity; something that almost never appears on Bloggerheads… a reference to sport. Yes, I’m as amazed as you are.

I may blog the results of New Statesman New Media Awards (the awards are presented/announced tomorrow evening), but after that I fully expect to re-plug and go back to sleep. Cheers all.

(For comments on Tom’s award, see his website; I’ve just taken the liberty of making a post on his behalf.)

Rob and I spent a very pleasant hour before the awards handing out ‘Will Blair Resign?’ stickers to people queuing up to go into Westminster. I was still wearing mine when I met Peter Hain at the presentation of Tom’s award and during a very pleasant chat in the reception that followed.

(Don’t ask; my lips are firmly sealed. No big secrets; I just don’t want to be rude.)